Safe Haven
by Sakagami Hina
Summary: Luka thought she was strong enough, that she wouldn't need to rely on anybody for help... Gakupo knows better.  A story of fear, pain, love, and forgiveness. Rated M for mature themes. Various pairings, Complete!
1. The Need to Fight

**A/N: Yup, it's Hina-chan. For those of you who've read my previous stories, this is NOT fluff. If you don't like serious, depressing topics, don't read this. Usually I filter out my really depressing story ideas, but for the sake of diversity I decided to write this one. If you do read it, I hope you enjoy it ^^"**

**Disclaimer: The events which occur in the following story is entirely from my own overactive imagination; relations to real people or events are coincidental. Oh, and I don't own Vocaloid.**

The bitter evening wind bit into the exposed legs beneath the pencil skirt of the tall, pink-haired woman walking briskly through the dark street. Although the air had been warm and pleasant that morning, she was definitely regretting her decision to walk to work. Of course, she hadn't planned on working late and having to jaunt through the chilliness of early fall. She shuddered beneath her thin jacket, increasing her pace to reach home faster.

Home – the house at the edge of the city where she lived with the other Vocaloids, who'd left hours before her and were probably still at the karaoke house they'd departed for. Luka sighed. The only one who'd gone straight home was Gakupo, the purple-haired eggplant-lover who seemed to be creepily attached to her. He'd claimed that he had some cleaning to do at the house, but he was probably just waiting for her. _I suppose it's sweet he doesn't want me to be alone after a long day of work… _she thought, trying to reason it out. _Of course, it's not like it's his job to protect me. Well, at least he's not following me around or anything…_

The moment she thought that, she heard a scuffle from the empty street behind her. Startled, she stopped on her heels and glanced over her shoulder. When nothing happened for a few seconds, she shrugged it off and, shivering, set back off through the silent street.

A moment later, she heard distinct footsteps behind her. She spun around to face the noise, and saw only darkness. "Hello?" she called, her voice sounding too loud. The street, separated from traffic by a few closed shops and dark-windowed homes, was like a vacuum void of sound. During the day, it was a nice street bordered by a bright forested park. _But at night…_ Luka suddenly felt a pang of fear stab her shivering form, her heart echoing almost audibly in the still gloom.

"Anyone there?" she called again, experiencing the same strange feeling that seemed to seep from the dark bricks of the buildings and the asphalt beneath her feet. The feeling wouldn't leave her, but since she didn't hear anything other than her shaking breath, she tried to ignore it. _I'm just being paranoid,_ she thought, turning around to resume her commute.

Two large men stood over her, blocking the street in front of her. Luka resisted the impulse to scream, but still jumped back when she noticed them only a few feet from where she had been standing. She stared at them for a moment, watching wide grins emerge on their faces.

"Missy here seems cold," one of them said in a rough voice, with undertones of something that sent shivers of panic up Luka's spine.

"Want to get warm, missy? Huh?" the other one taunted. In the dim light, Luka noticed his unshaved beard and grimy clothes. He stepped closer, licking his lips. _Disgusting._

"What do you want?" she said sternly, despite her shivering. They laughed mockingly. When several other voices joined in from behind and around her, she became aware of the fact that she was surrounded by at least six or seven men, on a dark street, alone at night. She clenched her fist. _Well, I didn't go through years of Karate for nothing._

"So missy wants to help us out, eh?" said one of the voices behind her. A man stepped closer and smiled. "Tell you what: you be a nice little doll, and we'll go easy on you." He reached out to touch her face.

The next moment, he was lying on the ground, having been twisted to his knees by the wrist and knocked out by Luka's stiletto. Before the other men had time to react, she began sprinting wildly through the gap he'd left in the circle. Unfortunately, this was the opposite direction she needed to go; this road brought her into an even less populated part of the city. At least she had a bit of a head start on the gang, who had come to their senses and were chasing after her.

It became immediately evident that she wasn't going to make much headway wearing three-inch heels. She stopped for half a second to rip of her shoes, throwing one randomly over her shoulder at the advancing men and keeping the other to use as a weapon, if need be. Although running in stockings on damp asphalt wasn't ideal, it was better than heels.

She would've called for help, but she'd run herself out of any sort of neighborhood and was now sprinting through some kind of factory district. She hoped to see some activity in the windows, or perhaps another worker leaving late, but her hopes were to no avail. She was completely alone, and she couldn't run forever. Already her breath was becoming ragged and painful.

Although she was unfamiliar with this part of the city, she took a left turn into an alley that seemed to have some activity at the far end. She gauged her level of exhaustion and the adrenaline readily entering her bloodstream, and hoped she would make it. She was gasping for air, taking in cold, dry oxygen by the mouthful, when she realized she wouldn't make it. A dark figure appeared in front of her, emerging from an adjacent alley. _Dammit! They have enough people that they can split up! Stupid, stupid me!_

Without stopping, she punched him in the face and darted around him. He recovered quickly, though, and yanked her back by her long pink hair. She yelped in pain, but when his hand closed over her wrist she swung him around, ramming him into the wall. She suddenly remembered the stiletto she held in her hand, and hit him over the head with it.

However, while she had been incapacitating the first man, the others had caught up to her. She managed to get a high kick at another man's jaw – luckily he was short, since the action was rendered nearly impossible by her tight skirt – and he stumbled backwards. The man behind him pushed the short one aside and jumped forward to snag Luka by the arm, and another one appeared on her right side and got his arm around her waist. She elbowed the man behind her in the face, and kicked the other man between the legs, effectively loosening their grips on her.

She tried to keep running down the alley, but another man, who was nearly shirtless despite the cold, appeared in her path and ripped the shoe out of her hand. He dodged Luka's punch, aimed for his nose, and grabbed her by the wrists. She tried to kick him between the legs, too, but he twisted out of the way and pinned her against the wall.

For several minutes they struggled, Luka now utilizing nails and teeth, and the shirtless man with his sheer overpowering strength. There was no fear; only instinct, which dictated Luka's every move. However, adrenaline couldn't hold her forever; she was exhausted. When another man – the short one she'd kicked in the jaw – reached around her to rip her shirt open, she half-screamed, half-growled in frustration and anger. A taller man yanked down on her hair, and the shirtless man tried to knock her knees out from under her. She felt hands on her shoulders, legs, chest – so many hands, uninvited, too many to fight off. She screamed again, though her throat was dry enough to bleed.

Somehow, only God knows how, she managed to rake her nails across the shirtless man's eyes, and his weight on top of her disappeared. Scratching blindly at the men who came to replace him, she scrambled to her feet. The rest of them must've been surprised, or just plain stupid; they just watched as she ran for her life down the remainder of the alley.

Down the street, there was a tiny café that emitted a small glow onto the surrounding gloom. This small proof of life, of safety for the victim, was probably the reason the rest of the men hadn't followed her.

Luka stumbled with exhaustion, gasping violently, but she managed to make it through the door. The face of the red-haired shopkeeper was filled with shock and concern when she noticed the barefooted, dirt-covered woman with ripped clothes fall through the door.

"My god! What's happened to you?" exclaimed the woman, rushing forward to check on her.

"Help… I… I was attacked…" croaked Luka. As if that short sentence had drained her, she collapsed onto the floor.

**A/N: It gets better... I promise...**


	2. Being There For Her

**A/N: Well, I guess there's a _little_ fluff.**

**Disclaimer: the story is still fictional, and I still don't own Vocaloid.**

Gakupo sat on the couch, filling out yet another Sudoku as he waited for someone to come home. His sigh filled the quiet living room. _I should've stayed and helped her finish all that work, _he thought sourly. His decision to give her some room and not seem over-protective was seriously beginning to annoy him. _I don't want her to resent me, though. This is for the best._

For the past few months, ever since he'd laid eyes on the pink-haired woman whose family he was coming to join, he'd been trying to get her attention. However, any show of affection was met with a cold glare, and any attempt to help her out was absolutely unacceptable in her eyes. He was sure she was completely capable of taking care of herself, but how could he resist trying to make her life a little easier? He wanted to be there for her.

As he penciled in the remaining number in the upper-right box, the shrill ring of the telephone pierced the suffocating silence of the empty house. Gakupo sighed again, walking over to the kitchen to answer it. _Probably Miku calling to tell me they'll be home late,_ he thought tiredly.

"Hello?" he said lethargically into the phone.

"Ah, who is this?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

"Gakupo Kamui, this is the Vocaloid residence. Why? Who is this?" he asked, a little annoyed. Wrong number, maybe?

"Well, I'm Teto Kasane, a woman just came into my café and said she was attacked on the street. She gave me this number to call…" answered the woman. Gakupo bristled. _Gangs these days… these streets are getting more and more dangerous at night…_ he thought as he heard the woman ask someone for her name. "She said her name was Luka Megurine."

The moment he heard that, Gakupo's heart stopped. The phone slid out of his hand and banged loudly on the floor. It took only a second for his entire world to crash around him.

_NOT LUKA!_

He dropped to his knees and found the phone on the floor, from which Teto's voice was calling "Hello? Hello, Kamui-san?"

"IS SHE OKAY?" he shouted into the phone, raw panic in his voice. _Where? _"Where is she?"

"It's okay, sir, she's fine. I'm calling from–" she recited the address of the café.

Gakupo only had time to blurt "I'm coming over!" before he hastily hung up the phone and scrambled out the door. _Shoes! I need shoes! _He said, noticing the slippers he was wearing. A jacket wouldn't hurt, either. He pulled on black shoes and the first jacket he grabbed, and as he was fumbling with his car keys he noticed the red car beside him. Luka's car. _Stupid! Why didn't I remember she walked to work this morning? I'm such an idiot; I let her walk home alone! This is all my fault!_

The anxious ride to the café was excruciating. The cars in front of him were too slow, the traffic lights too cruel in their sluggish, taunting cycles. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard for the longest ten minutes of his life.

He was tempted to ditch his car on the side of the street and just run, fly down the street, anything to get to her faster. Luckily, a reasonable voice in his head reminded him that he would need some way to bring Luka home when he finally got to her. He gritted his teeth. _If I ever get my hands on the bastards that did this…_ a stream of poisonous thoughts ran through his mind, things he'd never imagined himself capable of wanting. His heart pounded in his ears, his bloodstream flowing hot with fury, hatred, and pure cold fear.

He finally reached the café, the surrounding street now lit with the flashing lights of two police cars. He parked the car unevenly on the side of the street and didn't even bother locking it as he dashed inside. He hastily slid through the open door, and as he was surveying the room filled with small booths and a tidy counter, a man with bright red hair pulled into a low ponytail approached him.

"Are you Kamui-san?" he asked in a low voice. The entire room seemed hushed, the police officers even talking in whispers over in the corner.

"Yes. Where is she?" he said quickly, unable to hide his anxiety.

The man motioned to the corner where the police officers were talking. "My sister is taking care of her."

Gakupo walked over quickly but silently, as if his feet automatically sensed the quiet and were striving not to shatter it. He noticed a bit of salmon-colored hair, and his heart skipped a beat. He stood next to one of the officers and looked anxiously down at the mess of the woman he loved.

She was wrapped up in a brown blanket, but she still shivered as she laid curled up on the booth seat with her head on Teto's lap. One of the officers was sitting across from them and asking her questions, most of which she answered in a low, calm voice. Her eyes were red and teary, and her cheek had a long red scratch that looked to be from a brick wall. Her beautiful long hair spilled out on the red booth seat, the ends filled with dirt and grime. Her shredded stockings had been removed, and she had tattered red slippers on, hiding the raw skin on the soles of her feet. She kept closing her eyes as if she was falling asleep, and each time it took her longer and longer to open them again.

As she stumbled to answer one particularly hard question, her eyes darted around and focused on the purple-haired man standing at the end of the table, holding his breath. Her eyes filled with tears, and she managed the smallest of smiles.

It was the most beautiful thing Gakupo had ever seen.

"Luka," he said, choking on tears that were finally spilling down his face. The standing officer moved aside, and Gakupo sat down on the booth next to her feet as Teto helped her sit up. He locked eyes with her, two tear-blurred gazes connected, then he pulled her forward to embrace her. Heavy tears that Luka had been denying started running into the shoulder of Gakupo's jacket. He pressed his lips against her hair, crying silently as a million different emotions thrashed against his heart. It was a long while before he could muster up the strength to say anything.

"I bet you fought them off, didn't you?" he whispered, his voice thick from the tears. She nodded without moving away. "I'm proud of you," he said, a little chuckle escaping his lips. He started running his hands through her hair soothingly.

"Based on the information she's given us," said the seated officer gravely, "we've been able to capture five of the men. Two of them were out cold."

Gakupo chuckled again, but it wasn't from humor. It was one of those things where one has been through such turmoil that relief makes one giddy enough to laugh when it's over. He'd never doubted her ability to defend herself. However, one thought was eating at him, scratching an endless line of pain in his heart:

_I should've been there for her._

"It's all right," he said, resting his head back on the top of the seat and swallowing his tears. He said this as much to convince himself as the woman shivering in his arms.

Shivering. Luka couldn't stop shivering. She wasn't even cold anymore, but now that she was safe her body refused to accept it. She felt Gakupo's hands rub her back and shoulders, trying to warm her up. It was pointless, but the action itself made her feel a little better, at least.

After a few long minutes relaxed in the warmth of Gakupo's arms, she pulled away so she could wipe the tears off her face. She felt his gentle fingers on her cheeks, replacing her rough sleeve to wipe the moisture from her skin, and subconsciously her shivering started to waive.

Gakupo suddenly realized that there were several pairs of eyes trained on the heartwarming scene between them. From their point of view, the two of them probably looked like lovers. He didn't mind… his focus right now was comforting Luka. What their audience thought of their exchange didn't matter. Gakupo was just glad that he could be there for her… even if he hadn't been able to help her before. Bittersweet thoughts swirled in his mind.

"C'mon, Luka, I'm going to take you home," he said tenderly. She looked up at him, and a little smile graced her lips.

"One last question first, sir," said the seated officer. He turned to face Luka. "I understand this will be hard for you to answer, miss, but could you try to describe… what they did to you?"

Her jaw clenched, and she stared into the distance past the officer, her gaze hardening dangerously. It was almost a full minute before she could answer. "You could probably very well guess," she said tightly and grimly, "but I got away before they could finish."

Gakupo's hands were clenched into tight fists, but he felt trickles of relief seep through him at this news. _If those men had actually gotten to her…_ he thought darkly.

He was saddened to see the darkness in his eyes reflected in hers.

"For the record," began the standing officer, "you did an excellent job of staying calm and utilizing defensive techniques, miss. These men will serve a long, hard sentence in prison."

Luka nodded her head numbly. Her eyes fluttered, the exhaustion of the night setting down on her.

"I'll drive you home," Gakupo said quietly. Luka nodded, sinking into his arms. He scooped her up and stood, holding her princess-style.

"Wait… do you want this back?" Luka said sleepily to Teto, holding up the blanket still wrapped around her.

Teto shook her head solemnly. "Keep it." A flood of relief washed through Luka's weary frame; she really didn't need Gakupo to see how torn her clothes were.

"Thank you," she said weakly but meaningfully. She closed her eyes, relaxing into Gakupo's calm warmth. He exchanged a few words with the police officers that she didn't catch, then carried her out to the car. He set her down in the front seat, and a wave of panic struck her at the absence of his relaxing presence before she realized he was just walking around to the driver's side door. She sighed at her own irrationality. It was probably just the relentless fatigue setting in.

He silently began driving home, brooding in his own dark thoughts. She curled up in the seat, vacillating between closing her eyes and watching him drive. When she closed her eyes, the horrible sense of dark encasement began brewing in the corners of her mind; when she left them open, his silently thinking profile calmed her a little. She settled on leaving them open.

"Hey, Gakupo?" she said quietly as something occurred to her.

"Yes?" He'd forced himself to compose his voice so she wouldn't be able to sense the cloud of fury hanging over him.

"We can't let the twins know. Or Miku, or Gumi," she said, her voice filling with panic at the thought of the younger Vocaloids learning what had happened to her.

Gakupo clenched his jaw. "I agree. What about Meiko, Kaito, and Kiyoteru?"

She sighed. "You can tell them. I… don't think I could."

He stared coldly at the road in front of him. They came to a stoplight, and he closed his eyes, forcing his anger deep inside him. He noticed his hands were tightly clutching the wheel again, and he removed one of them to caress her face gently. "Okay."

She sighed in relief, leaning into his hand. With that weight off her chest, all she really wanted to do was sleep. She needed a shower, though. She wondered if the rest of them had returned from karaoke yet, and whether she'd be able to sneak past their suspicions.

They pulled into the garage, and discovered Meiko and Kiyoteru's cars still missing. Another sigh of relief; another weight off her chest: they hadn't come home yet. She uncurled herself from the seat and opened the door. Before she could stand, however, he was standing in front of her, blocking her way.

"Oh, no, you don't," he said, with a joking smile. He only meant to lighten the mood by carrying her inside, but it was soon clear that it was a mistake. Luka flashed back to a few hours before, when she was surrounded by men wearing those dangerous grins. Fear flashed across her eyes, and she instinctively recoiled back into the car.

Gakupo's smile disappeared, replaced with a face laden with worry and concern. He kneeled on the ground in front of her, so he was just below her eye level. "I'm sorry," he said gently. "It's okay, I just forgot…" He trailed off, grimacing at his own stupidity. Luka had recovered by then, and apologized quickly, embarrassed by her reaction. He glanced up at with penetratingly sad eyes.

The next moment, he had composed himself and scooped her up again. "Hey! You don't have to carry me!" Luka complained quietly.

"Both you and I know very well that you would fall on your face on the very first step," he said slowly, a small smile urging its way onto his face. Luka pouted, but didn't try to struggle. It was very true – in fact, she wasn't sure if she could've made it to the stairs at all. She resigned herself to becoming comfortable in his arms.

He set her down in her room. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, his forehead creased with concern.

She raised an eyebrow. "I can make it from here."

He smiled at her, and hugged her briefly before walking out of the room. He glanced at her once more before closing the door.

_He'll be worrying about me all night…_ Luka thought guiltily. Sighing, she carefully walked over to her bathroom. It was times like these that she was incredibly thankful to have a bathroom connected to her room. She turned on the shower, heating up the water, and cautiously dropped the blanket that had remained draped over her shoulders.

Her clothes were a complete mess. Her shirt had been torn to pieces, not just eliminating the buttons but nearly destroying it at the seams. Her skirt was tattered at the ends, and the knees peeking out from beneath it were scratched and bloody. She pulled off the shirt, and grimaced in pain; something hard and sharp had caught her skin on the back of her right shoulder. Teto had washed and bandaged it, so hopefully it wouldn't get infected, but Luka made a resolution to clean it again after her shower… which she knew she was going to forget. She removed the rest of her clothes, and piled them all in the trash bin. She didn't dare look in the mirror for fear that the disheveled face looking back would disgust her.

She showered slowly, enjoying the way the hot water sedated the lingering shivers, but wincing as it stung her wounds. After she had washed herself three or four times at least, she turned off the water, and the shivers immediately resumed.

Lying in bed in the warmest pajamas she could find, Luka expected to fall asleep immediately. But however tired her body was, her mind was still reeling in circles and refusing to settle down. She struggled to keep her eyes shut for an hour before she heard the rest of the family enter the house. The silent building suddenly exploded in sound; the Vocaloids, after all, weren't known for their ability to be quietly tranquil. She heard Gakupo's low voice say something along the lines of "Luka had a hard day at work, so she went to bed early," and from then on the racket was accompanied by equally loud shushes. Luka sighed quietly, smiling to herself. As annoying as they were, she truly loved her family.

For the next hour, the younger Vocaloids failed at being quiet as they got ready for bed. After the general din quieted down and quiet breathing could be slightly heard throughout the house, she heard low voices coming from the kitchen. As time went on, they became increasingly panicked and angry. _Gakupo must be talking with them…_ Luka thought numbly. _Telling them what happened._ She truly hoped he'd convince them she really needed her sleep, because she didn't want to face any of them at that point.

Another half hour or so passed, and although some feet lingered at her door, nobody entered Luka's room. Finally, it must've been after midnight when the hall light turned off and relative silence fell over the Vocaloid house. It took a long time for Luka to relax her mind; in her exhaustion her thoughts trailed off into incomprehensible nonsense. When she did eventually find sleep, it was only for a brief time; nightmares which had been brewing silently within her rose readily to devour her unconscious mind.

As dawn approached, she considered asking Gakupo to sleep in his room, but immediately rejected that idea. It might stop the nightmares, but she didn't want to give him anything else to worry about – she pictured that little line between his eyebrows creasing, which always accompanied a sad, angry, or concerned look in his eyes. _Besides…_ it took her a moment to think of what the "her" twelve hours ago would've said. _I don't want to give the pervert any ideas. _She almost laughed at herself.

Eventually, she fell into a numb, exhausted daze just as the sun was peeking up over the ocean in the distance. The night of horror and pain was over, it was a new day, and Luka was completely insensible to it all.

**A/N: Twas was the chapter that never ends! I couldn't get to a good stopping point, orz Well, I'll have the next chapter up ASAP, as soon as I figure out what to write... ^^" I hope you liked it, though~**

**Vacillate: to waver between two choices. It was a vocab word in class the other day, I couldn't resist ^^""**


	3. Sleeplessness

**A/N: When I say "update soon," I do not lie. Here's a short-ish chapter, I hope you like it ^^**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Vocaloid, this wouldn't be a fanfiction, WOULD it? Hmm?**

Gakupo lay in bed, watching the bits of sunlight trickle into his room. The advancing daylight slowly faded the colors back into to the walls, but his world would remain grey. He glanced over the clock, and watched it turn from 5:58, to 5:59, to 6:00 AM. His alarm started going off. Sighing, he reached over and turned it off. There was no need for it to wake him up; around 3:30 in the morning he'd pretty much accepted that he wasn't going to sleep that night.

He'd been turning over again and again in mind what he would've done, could've done… should've done. He kept seeing the panic in Luka's eyes as he stood over her. It haunted him the entire night. He cursed himself, his stupidity. Several times through the night he'd woken up from brief but terrifying nightmares, and had to resist the incredible urge to run and check on Luka. He'd gone over the events of the day before in his mind a thousand times… _all that time I'd been doing stupid Sudoku! _The sides of his face were stained with long-gone tears that he hadn't bothered to wipe away. He had simply lain on his back, staring at the dark ceiling, hating himself.

He finally rose and got dressed in brown pants and a lavender shirt, not really caring whether they matched or not. Glancing in the mirror of his bathroom, he tried to wipe away the signs of exhaustion from his face to no avail. The dark circles beneath his eyes would make sense to the three Vocaloids to whom he'd told the truth, but they would confuse the younger ones who still believed nothing had happened. He sighed. It was clearly a hopeless cause.

The house was still quiet, with the sense that it was holding its breath before the pandemonium would begin. He walked down the hall, and silently opened the door to Luka's room to check on her. She was sprawled out on the bed in her pajamas, having kicked the blanket to her feet in her restless exhaustion-induced sleep. He walked over and spread the blanket back over her tense form. He observed her delicate features, grimacing discontentedly, and placed a kiss lightly on her cheek before retreating from the room.

He met Kaito and Kiyoteru in the kitchen talking about something. From the sound of it, Meiko was drunk again. They grew silent as they noticed him approaching.

"Can I ask a favor of one of you?" Gakupo inquired, his sleepless night obvious in his worn-out voice. "I really want to stay home to take care of Luka, but I don't want the others to become suspicious. But someone needs to make sure she's okay."

The two nodded solemnly, exchanging a glance. "Meiko clearly isn't taking care of anyone today," started Kiyoteru, "and I'm in the middle of quarterly reports, so I can't take any time off. Kaito, could you stay home?"

Kaito looked nervous. "Umm, I've never really had to take care of someone like this before… what do I do?"

Gakupo half-smiled. "Watch over her… keep her company… make her something to eat when she wakes up… make sure she's not alone…" he suggested.

"I can do that," Kaito said, smiling.

A weary sigh of relief escaped Gakupo's lips. If he was this tired already, it was going to be a long day. He wished he'd been able to sleep…

Miku wandered into the kitchen in teal pajamas that matched her hair. "G'mornin'," she yawned, rubbing her eyes and walking over to the fridge.

"Tired from the crazy night of karaoke?" said Gakupo lightly, forcing energy into his voice.

"Maaayybee…" Miku confirmed, munching on the end of a raw leek.

"Too bad you missed it, eh, Gakupo?" teased Kaito. Gakupo hoped Miku couldn't detect the edge of hysteria in his shaky laugh.

"Hey, Miku," started Kaito, "Luka's caught a cold, and Meiko's drunk again, so I'm staying home to take care of them."

"She must've caught something walking home in the cold last night," added Kiyoteru. Miku nodded indifferently.

"You know…" said Gakupo nervously, his willpower breaking, "maybe I should stay home after all."

"But I already promised I'd stay home," pouted Kaito. Out of the corner of his eye, Kiyoteru sent Gakupo a warning glance.

Miku raised her eyebrows sleepily at this exchange. _Better not to break down in front of her…_ thought Gakupo. He excused himself to go grab some things in his room.

_What am I doing?_ He thought, slouching on the end of his bed. The instinct to stay home and protect the woman he loved almost overtook him – but then he remembered the reasoning he'd gone over during the long night before. He sighed again, resting his head in his hands. It was going to be a very, very long day.

**A/N: Don't ask me what Gakupo's thinking, nobody really knows what's going on up there =P And I think Kaito might have a little crush on Luka, but hey, I'm not 100% sure. Well, the next chapter will be up soon ^^**


	4. Waking Up

**A/N: I have no idea where I'm going with this. Well, I do, but I have no idea how I'm getting there. Look forward to it ^^**

**Disclaimer: no, I still don't own Vocaloid. I don't own whatever Kaito's cooking, either.**

Luka woke up with a start, feeling suffocated. She gasped for air on the bed, her twisted limbs slowly coming back to life. She noticed the heavy blanket on top of her, weighing her down – she was sure she'd kicked that to the foot of the bed at some point in the night. _What time is it?_ she wondered suddenly. Her eyes took a while to focus on the clock on her left, as if she was underwater. She wiped at them to clear them, and discovered moisture leaking from under her eyelids. _Was I crying in my sleep?_ It seemed an utterly ridiculous thing to do.

In any case, it was almost noon. Luka slid her feet out of bed, and the in the absence of the blanket the shivers hit her with their full force. _Dammit,_ she thought, clenching her teeth. She spotted her fluffy pink bathrobe hanging up in the bathroom, and darted over to pull it around herself. She shivered violently for a few seconds before the thick fabric absorbed her warmth. She slipped on her slippers – pink, with little tunas embroidered on the tops. They'd been a Christmas present from someone, she couldn't remember who. She opened the door and, hearing the sounds of someone cooking coming from the kitchen, began walking in that direction.

She was surprised to see it was Kaito who was cooking in the kitchen – the blue-haired young man wasn't known for his culinary excellence. Nevertheless, he seemed very focused on his work, even tying Meiko's "I Put Sake In The Sushi" apron around his waist. Luka leaned against the side of the doorframe into the room.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly. The sudden sound of her voice caused him to drop the spoon he was holding into a pot of boiling water, and he jumped back quickly before he could get burned.

"Ahaha, sorry 'bout that, good mor- whoa, what happened? I mean, um, are you okay?" he stuttered, noticing the angry red scratch running down the left side of her face.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Whatcha cookin'?" She walked over to gaze into the pots churning diligently on the stove.

He glanced at her cautiously, but then shook it off. _She recovered faster than I'd expected…_ he thought with relief. "It's a tuna-potato stew recipe Gakupo left me. I thought you'd like it," he explained, smiling.

She deeply inhaled the odor wafting up from the pot. "Smells good," she lied. _Note to self: add soy sauce. LOTS of soy sauce._

"Yay! It's done!" he exclaimed, turning off the stove. He piled Luka's plate with rice, several spoonfuls of the chunky grey stew, and a few pieces of sushi which, thankfully, came from the store.

"Thank you for the food," she said dutifully while Kaito piled up another plate.

"I'm going to take this one to Meiko," he said, smiling cheerfully. _Best of luck in your endeavors,_ Luka prayed silently, fearing for the poor, clueless man as he descended into the depths of Meiko's alcohol-induced warzone. As soon as he was out of sight, Luka quickly got up and washed half the stew down the sink, then sat back down and drenched the rest in soy sauce. _Well, at least it's tuna,_ she thought, shuddering at the memory of one of Kaito's leek or eggplant creations. She, Gakupo, and occasionally Meiko (when she wasn't too drunk) had taken over cooking for the family for a reason.

Loud bangs, crashes, and a feminine scream which probably belonged to Kaito drifted down the hall. Luka facepalmed. _That man really never learns, does he…_

Kaito stumbled back into the room, covered in food, and Luka pretended to be gobbling down the contents of her plate. She resisted the urge to gag as the flavor hit her tongue, choosing to hold her breath and get it over with as quickly as possible.

"You like it?" asked Kaito, beaming. Luka smiled unconvincingly. However, the clueless man didn't seem to notice, and removed Meiko's apron which, luckily, had taken the brunt of the food. Luka finished off the stew – thank god – and turned to the rice and sushi to clean the taste out of her mouth while Kaito attended to the remaining pan on the stove.

"What's that?" Luka asked, setting her empty plate in the sink. She immediately regretted the question.

Kaito frowned. "It's another recipe Gakupo gave me, but it doesn't seem to be working…" Luka gazed into the pan, the contents of which resembled asparagus floating in some sort of bubbling brown goo. _You know what they say about curiosity and the cat…_ she thought, turning away before she could inhale the fumes from the pan.

"I think you'd be better off without that one," she admitted gently. He sighed, and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"AAH!" she shouted, jumping away reflexively. He gazed at her, wide-eyed, mumbling disjointed apologies. "Oh, I'm sorry, it's okay," she amended, her motherly instincts activated by his puppy-dog face. "I just have a cut right there… it's not your fault."

"Oh…" he said, recovering. "Are you okay?"

"It's fine," she assured him. She suddenly remembered that she needed to bandage it. "Actually, do you think you could bandage it? I'm not sure I could reach very well."

"Oh, um, sure," he said, dumping the asparagus-like concoction down the sink where it hissed menacingly. He grabbed the box of medical supplies (frequently used in the Vocaloid home) and walked over to her. "Where is it?"

She shrugged halfway out of the bathrobe and slid the sleeve of her pajama shirt down, revealing the wound. "Ouch," he said quietly. "You should've dealt with this earlier."

"I forgot," she said with a sigh. She waited a moment for him to get started, then glanced over her shoulder to see what was taking him so long. He was staring at her bare back, blushing as he held up a cotton ball.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, blushing as she realized his predicament. "I can do it myself if you want."

"No, no, it's okay," he said, shaking off his embarrassment. He began cleaning the wound determinedly, biting his lip in silence. Luka faced forward, wincing occasionally at the sting but otherwise staring tiredly out the window.

"Thanks," she said when Kaito finished. He shrugged, setting the box back on the shelf. Luka pulled the bathrobe back around her shoulders, suddenly feeling the need to be outside. "I'm going up to the roof," she announced.

"The roof?" he said, tilting his head to the side.

She gave him a little smile. "I'll show you."

**A/N: D'aww, Kaito's so cute =3 He's always reminded me of a puppy. It's not like I support him and Luka, though, HECK no. Like I said, I don't know where I'm going with this ^^"**

**Also, I can beta read now! Yaay! I think. Not sure how this works. Well, I'll figure it out eventually.**

**Song constantly stuck in my head as I wrote this: "Breathe (2AM)" By Anna Nalick → .com/watch?v=jPz3YaIJkjQ**

**I hope you liked it! ^^**


	5. Surrounded by Sky

**A/N: I don't get these specifications for being a beta-reader... *grumbles* This story's getting pretty long, though. There's some things you just can't stop writing, I guess. The fact that I have a four-day weekend is probably a contributing factor.**

**Disclaimer: no matter how many fanfictions I write, I will probably never own Vocaloid. Although that would be amazing.**

Kaito followed her up the stairs and through her room, his curiosity overcoming his embarrassment. She kneeled on the alcove next to one of her windows and slid the bottom part all the way up. Kicking off her slippers, she stepped out the window and onto the shingled roof a few feet below… Kaito judged that she was standing on top of the living room. She motioned for him to follow her.

"Now, you might not want to follow me, but…" she hooked her bare hands and feet into the bricks of the chimney, "I usually climb up this." She gracefully scaled about six feet of brick, then, stepping on the top, hoisted herself up onto the roof above her room.

"You do this often?" asked Kaito, raising his eyebrows but laughing.

"Not when we have a fire in the fireplace, of course," she said, sitting on the shingles and smiling down at him. "But yeah, whenever it's getting too crazy in there. Or, sometimes, it's just nice to be outside. The stargazing isn't half-bad on a clear night, even with the city lights."

"Does anyone else know?" he asked innocently. In some part of his mind, he was probably hoping that he was the only one she'd told.

She rolled her eyes. "Gakupo caught me up here a couple times. The first time, I'd left the window wide open, and when he came in my room to call me for dinner he looked out and saw me. I made him promise not to tell anyone, but from then on he knew where to find me. Creeper," she joked.

He laughed, unsurprised. "I'm gonna try and climb this," he said, gripping the chimney.

"Be careful," she warned him. The gaps between the bricks were big enough for fingers and toes, but Luka's ease in climbing it came from years of practice. He got a few steps up, but then one of his socks slipped.

"Kaito!" she shouted, leaning over the edge and grabbing his hand before he could fall. Laughing from relief, he lowered himself back onto the living room-level roof.

"You know what, I think I'll just sit down there for today," she said, shaking her head and smiling. She carefully descended along a portion of the chimney and then jumped down lightly beside him. He chuckled and sat down next to her. She stretched out on her back, yawning.

"Didn't get much sleep?" he said. She nodded slowly, humming a note of consent. Kaito sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry about… what happened, and… I can see you're doing okay, but… if there's anything I can… maybe…"

"I don't wanna talk about it," she said quietly, staring at the sky. _I will definitely, absolutely, not cry in front of him,_ she thought firmly, swallowing whatever tears had inadvertently welled up in her throat.

Kaito silently joined her in lying on the roof watching the sky. It was a light but cloudy day, and layers of rolling grey covered any trace of blue sky in sight. From the angle the two Vocaloids were facing, one could see the close forms of mismatched buildings and crisscrossing roads which made up their home city. To the right, the city reached out into the harbor and boats sailed into the endless sea; to the left, autumn-colored forests and distant mountains overtook the buildings. While Kaito watched the city breathing, Luka closed her eyes and enjoyed the refreshing breeze drifting up from the ocean. Which is why she didn't notice when Gakupo's dark blue car sped into the garage.

"I'm going inside," said Kaito. Luka hummed quietly, acknowledging him without opening her eyes. He paused once he was inside. "Don't fall asleep out there, or you'll get a cold," he warned.

"Got it," said Luka dreamily. She relaxed, feeling the breeze brush her bangs across her face and breathing the fresh air deeply.

Kaito met Gakupo as he was quietly closing the door to the garage.

"You're home," observed the blue-haired man, raising his eyebrows.

Gakupo sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "It was hopeless. I couldn't focus on anything. Master told me to go home early since I was being so useless."

"I guess you couldn't sleep last night, either," said Kaito, half-smiling.

"Not really," he said. "Is Luka okay?"

"Actually…" Kaito began, "she's doing a lot better than I expected. I don't know why you were so worried about her, she seems like she's back to normal."

Gakupo shook his head, smiling sadly. "That's what she wants you to think." Kaito thought about that silently for a while.

"Where is she?" Gakupo asked after a moment. "Is she sleeping again?"

"Not sure," Kaito answered. "She's on the roof."

"So she told you about that, huh?" Gakupo said, smiling a little. "She's special, that one. And not in a bad way," he specified.

Kaito laughed. "A little tired, huh?" Gakupo chuckled and yawned at the same time... the result sounded quite strange.

"I'm going to go check on her," he said after a moment, walking up to her room. He looked out the open window and, sure enough, the pink-haired woman was breathing softly on the shingles a few feet away. He hesitated before waking her… she was sleeping so peacefully, it seemed detestable to bring her back to reality. However, after a few minutes, she started grimacing and twitching from nightmares, so Gakupo stepped onto the roof.

"Luka," he said gently, sitting next to her. Her eyelids fluttered. "Luka," he called again, and she gasped awake.

Slowly her eyes focused on the source of the voice which had wakened her. "You're home?" she asked dreamily. "Oh shit, did I fall asleep on the roof for five hours and work's over?" she said, more awake.

Gakupo chuckled. "No, I just left early," he assured her.

"How come?" she asked.

"I was worried about you…" he said quietly. She punched him gently in the cheek.

"Stupid," she said tiredly, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked, the line between his eyebrows creasing. Luka looked into his eyes, filled with soul-deep sadness, and an understanding passed between them. The tears she'd been denying since she'd woken up that morning rose to the corners of her eyes.

Gakupo lay down beside her and let her cry silently into his shoulder. _This is why I wasn't going to stay home today…_ he thought, watching the grey clouds move above them. _I didn't want to bring her back to this cold reality. I suppose I'm selfish like that._ He held her closely while she shivered and cried out the pain in her heart.

Kaito stood in Luka's room, watching the scene. _It's true,_ he thought. _She was just pushing away this sadness all day. _He turned away, smiling sadly, and walked back down the stairs.

A certain brunette was lying passed out on the kitchen floor, a bottle of sake clutched in one hand and snoring loudly. Kaito smiled and shook his head. _Looks like I still have someone to take care of._

**A/N: Luka's such a heartbreaker~**

**If you liked it, please review/subscribe/favorite, thankies! I love getting feedback on my stories! ^^**


	6. Midnight Confessions

**A/N: Took a little longer to write this one, since the four-day weekend ended. Still, my idea of "a long time to write" is a couple days, even though for most people it would be a couple weeks... ^^"**

**In any case, this one's a bit fluffier. Oh, that's my specialty. Disclaimer: no, I still don't own Vocaloid. Enjoy~**

Luka lay in bed, staring once again at her dark ceiling and dreading the sleepless night ahead of her. She'd been listening to the banter of her family ever since they'd arrived home from work (the younger ones worked at the studio a few hours after school), occasionally picking at the meal Gakupo had brought in for her. Although it had long gone cold, it was still delicious. She wished she'd had any appetite… but her stomach just wasn't in the mood to do anything.

Her entire body wasn't in the mood to do anything. Although she was lying completely on her back, breathing itself seemed to be an exercise. She closed her eyes, but the darkness pressed in on her, filling her with claustrophobia. She went back to passively memorizing the ceiling. Sighing, she thought, _why do I even try?_

After a minute, the door cracked open hesitantly. Luka propped herself up on her elbows, grunting at the effort required to perform the simple action. The brown-haired woman at the door cautiously poked her head in.

"Meiko," greeted Luka warmly. "Fancy seeing you sober."

Meiko rolled her eyes. "It's past midnight. Shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

Luka raised an eyebrow. "If you'd expected me to be asleep, why'd you come in?"

"Touché," responded Meiko with a laugh. She walked over and sat lightly on the end of Luka's bed. Suddenly, her face fell, and she sighed. "Sometimes, I envy you, Luka."

"You envy _me?_" Luka said with a snort.

Meiko nodded solemnly. "Just look at me. Nothing even happened to me, and I couldn't stand it. I drank myself to sleep the other night… just like many nights before that. It's like life itself… is too much for me. How can you be so strong?"

"I'm not strong," she responded quietly. "I don't know if I can handle this much longer…"

Meiko wrapped her arms around her. "We're all here for you," she whispered into her hair. Luka nodded, fighting tears. _Why am I crying so much? _she thought scornfully.

"The kids want to see you," Meiko said after a minute. It was clear from her voice that she, too, was fighting tears. "Gakupo and Kaito told them you tripped and scratched your cheek. They won't find out, you know…"

Luka nodded again. She did want to see them, desperately so. She would have to find the strength to face them, first. She needed to be able to act normally in front of them… and as much as she tried to deny it to herself, Luka knew she wasn't okay. _I need… sleep, first._ She yawned involuntarily.

"Maybe you should give sleeping another shot," suggested Meiko, moving towards the door. She shrugged off her melancholy attitude; after all, she wasn't the kind of person to wallow in her own misery… at least, not when she was sober.

"G'night," said Luka, settling back into her bed.

"By the way…" Meiko said, standing in the doorframe, "if you're not strong enough to handle this, why are you in your room alone?" Closing the door quietly, she left.

She jumped when she looked up and noticed the blue-haired man leaning against the wall next to Luka's door. "Were you eavesdropping?" she whispered accusingly.

"I heard you talking," Kaito whispered back, half-smiling. Meiko rolled her eyes and walked past him, down to the kitchen. She instinctively opened up the drawer above the refrigerator, and reached up for a bottle of sake. This time, however, a silent hand rested on her wrist, stopping her.

She whipped her head around to glare at the offender. He just gazed at her gently, shaking his head. Usually Meiko would've punched him, but… he'd never looked so _sad_ before. She saw genuine concern in his deep blue eyes.

"Didn't you just say you wished you were stronger?" he said quietly. She gulped, remembering her words… and the overwhelming sense of desperation that had accompanied them. _He's right…_ she admitted to herself.

She wordlessly closed the cabinet.

xxxXXXxxx

As if she was mimicking Meiko's earlier action, Luka poked her head cautiously through the door of Gakupo's room. She'd thought for a long time about the older woman's words; but for some reason, she'd chosen to go to Gakupo. She watched him lay on his bed for a few seconds, not fooled by his irregular breathing.

"Gakupo, I know you're awake," she said quietly.

"Luka?" he said, looking up and noticing her for the first time. "What's up?"

"I… can't sleep…" she said. She stumbled through her request in her mind. "I was wondering, um, maybe if… I could get to sleep better if… perhaps I could sleep on your floor?"

"Sure, Luka," he said sarcastically, his eye-rolling lost in the dark room. "Both you and I know that neither of us is sleeping on the floor. C'mere." He shifted to one side of the bed and pulled down the covers, inviting her.

She complied reluctantly mostly for his sake; she didn't want him to know how relieved she truly was. She lay down on the far side of the bed, curling up in his warmth lingering in the sheets.

She closed her eyes, determined to get to sleep. Her body lulled itself into a heavy, exhausted state, but once again her mind refused to calm down. Before she knew it, she was shivering again.

"Are you cold?" Gakupo asked softly, turning to face her.

She shook her head and gritted her teeth. "Not at all. I don't know why I keep shivering."

He silently pulled her into his arms, and she didn't even bother to protest. She gave up her pretenses, and let a few more tears escape.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered. "I keep crying on you."

He chuckled a little. "Don't worry about it. If you need to cry, I'm here for you."

She smiled to herself at these words. _I used to think he was so annoying…_ she thought, wondering what happened. _LIFE happened. _So where did that leave her? _I don't know. I don't know anything anymore._

On that bittersweet note, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**A/N: Totally predictable, right? xD Ah well, I like it anyways. If you liked it too, please review/subscribe, etc~! Remember, I love getting feedback on my writing... plus it makes me write faster~! Heck, soon I'll be giving away cookies for reviews.**

**'Til next time~!**


	7. Sugarplum Dreams

**A/N: And the fluff gets fluffier! Also, I've been keeping the country this is set in pretty vague, but as of this chapter, it's definitely set in Japan. So just, um... pretend they're speaking Japanese. Domo arigato gozaimasu. ^^**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Vocaloid...**

**Luka Luka Night Fever (which I also don't own): .com/watch?v=SQhfd6nQbbU **

**...I maybe sorta have that song on my alarm clock... it's very effective for waking up, actually ^^ Enjoy~**

"DAME DAME YO!"

Luka jumped awake at the sound of her own voice emitting from Gakupo's alarm clock. _Luka Luka Night Fever? What the hell…?_

"_This_ is your alarm?" she asked the man exasperatedly.

"Hey, it wakes me up," he replied sheepishly. "Half the time it just beeps, though…" _Why did it have to choose this morning to play music?_

He leaned over to turn off the alarm. By the time he'd shifted back into the bed, she'd already dozed off.

He cradled her lightly sleeping form warmly in his arms, gazing at the sunny window with tired eyes. He'd spent the entire night either watching her sleep or waking up from nightmares. As happy as he was to hold her so closely, it did little to subdue his subconscious. He was almost jealous of her still, restful sleep.

After about half an hour, Kaito's head appeared in the doorway. He noticed the pink-haired head peeking out from under the covers with surprise. He glanced at Gakupo questioningly.

"I'm staying," mouthed Gakupo in order not to wake her up. Kaito nodded and closed the door quietly.

Gakupo closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the house waking up. It was the same routine every day: the long sunbeams of morning began the Vocaloids' stirring, and slowly the chaos would begin. Around 7:40 it would suddenly die out, and the house would be at rest until 6:00 or so when everyone got back from work; later if they wanted to do karaoke or something. They would crash around for a few hours, but by midnight it was silent again. Each weekday was the same, as predictable as if you could listen to the very life of the house as it breathed… but you didn't notice it until you were no longer a part of it.

Gakupo lay in bed for several hours after the house quieted down, closing his eyes and holding the softly breathing woman. It was so warm and comfortable, he wished he could stay like that forever. Unfortunately, his stomach didn't think so; it growled so loudly, it was a wonder it didn't wake Luka. _Please go away, _he begged the pains in his abdomen. _Just five more minutes. _His silent pleas were to no avail, however, and after a minute he couldn't ignore it any longer. Sighing in defeat, he gently set Luka down on the bed and slipped out of their pocket of combined warmth.

Unsurprisingly, the cold late-morning air jolted him awake. He resisted the urge to go back to bed and shivered down to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

He was intrigued to find a note on the refrigerator with his name on it. It read:

_Gakupo:_

_Made some bentos for you lovebirds when you wake up, top shelf. I hope you two enjoy your time alooone today~_

_Meiko_

He crumpled up the note and put it in his pocket, blushing a little. _I sincerely hope she put that there after Miku and the others left…_ he thought.

In any case, it was rare for Meiko to be up early cooking. Curious, he opened up the fridge to find two heart-shaped bento boxes on the top shelf. He rolled his eyes. _Seriously, Meiko?_

He had to admit, it was pretty good. _Meiko's actually a really good cook..._ he thought. _I wish she would cook more often._

He sank into the couch with the bento on the coffee table to eat. The delicious food eased his growling stomach, and he found himself growing drowsy. Not a big surprise, since he'd gone almost two whole days without sleep. The world blurred, tilted sideways, and went dark.

Luka woke up easily, her eyelids feeling like butterflies fluttering gently awake. She took a deep breath, feeling the creamy sunlight from her brief dream still on her face. In the dream, she had been riding her bike in her hometown in the mountains a few hours away from the city. She was riding barefooted like she always did when she was a little girl; there was someone beside her, and although she couldn't tell who it was, the person's presence filled her with warmth and comfort. Endless green passed around her, the yellow sunlight filtering through the trees. It was a beautiful relief from the nightmares that had haunted her the night before.

She glanced around the unfamiliar room around her for a moment before she remembered. _That's right, I slept in Gakupo's room last night._ Her head turned to the empty bed beside her. _Speaking of which, where'd he go?_

She lay in the warm bed a few minutes longer, just relaxing, before stepping into the lingering morning chill. She walked quickly out of the room and down the stairs, glancing around for the purple-haired man. _He didn't go to work, did he?_

She finally found him curled up on the couch, his chopsticks and bento placed haphazardly on the table. She leaned over him, and he snored loudly. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

_What's this?_ she thought, noticing a crumpled piece of paper on the table. She picked it up and read the note from Meiko. _Seriously, Meiko? _She blushed and set the note back down. _That's hilarious, really. _She rolled her eyes.

It was well-timed, though, since her stomach had begun to churn hungrily. She took Gakupo's finished bento into the kitchen and found her own identical heart-shaped box in the fridge. She muttered curses under her breath, blushing even more, but was still impressed that Meiko would get up early to cook for them. _Thanks, Meiko… even if you insist on teasing me to death._

She ate her bento quickly and washed both their boxes. Walking back into the living room, she sat down on the end of the couch and turned on the TV quietly. Gakupo continued to snore, not moving a centimeter. _That really doesn't look comfortable…_ she thought, surveying his position. Meiko's teasing note forgotten, she pulled his head into her lap and started playing with his long purple hair. He didn't stir at all, completely submerged in his exhausted sleep.

It was a few hours before he began to regain consciousness. Through the dark layers of sleep around his mind, he felt gentle fingers in his hair. He decided he was dreaming, so he remained half-asleep feeling the relaxing gentle tugging. There's something about having your hair played with that just feels so good, like something your mother would do after all the knot-tugging was over. The fingers lovingly braided and unbraided strands of hair for a long time before Gakupo decided to wake up.

He opened his eyes to see the familiar face of Luka just above him, watching something absentmindedly. He slowly realized that he was lying on the couch with his head in her lap. _I really am dreaming, aren't I?_

She glanced down at him, and realized he was looking at her. "Oh, sorry!" she said, dropping his hair. "I just thought, um… you didn't look very comfortable on the couch…"

"It's fine," he said, smiling dreamily. He rested there for a moment. Groaning tiredly, he sat up and swung his legs around to the ground. "Did you get your bento?"

"Oh, yes. Meiko is hilarious," she said, rolling her eyes. "It was good, though. I'm glad she didn't drink last night." Gakupo nodded in consent.

"So… what do you want to do?" he asked. The bland news show on the TV clearly wasn't holding much interest for her.

"Um, actually, I was thinking that I'd like to get out today," she responded distractedly.

In response, he reached out and poked her scratched cheek. She flinched away at the sting. "Oh, right. I forgot about that."

Gakupo smiled a little. "It's not that big of an issue, but I thought it would bother you." She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, then… we could watch a movie, maybe?"

He nodded. "Sure. Which one?"

They decided on Titanic, with Japanese subtitles because Gakupo's English was still a little shaky. It was one of Luka's favorite English movies, though, and when "My Heart Will Go On" began playing, she sang every word. Gakupo watched her more than he watched the movie. By the time it was over, it was almost 6:00.

"Everyone will be home soon," Gakupo observed. "The kids miss you."

Luka nodded. "I want to see them, too. Should we start dinner?"

Gakupo smiled. "I think it's an eggplant sort of night, don't you?"

**A/N: That felt awkward to write ;.; And, wow... over 10,000 words... and I don't see this ending anytime soon... **

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing and stuff! Please keep it up, I love getting feedback and it makes me write faster! **


	8. A Lack of Judgement

**A/N: This is kinda random, but... I think I was originally going to call this "Somewhere in Your Arms There's a Safe Haven." Then I forgot. Well, I like those really long titles for some reason. Not that anyone cares. This chapter took a bit longer due to schoolwork, homework, etc, blahblahblah. It was written mainly in Algebra class, and I don't think anyone noticed although I was giggling manaically for the majority of it. Whatever.**

**Disclaimer: Je ne posséde pas le Vocaloid. Oh, and I forgot in the last chapter... I don't own Titanic, either. Enjoy!**

"You saw him! He was super cute!" piped Miku's voice in the distance.

"No, thanks. He looked too much like _you_ for my tastes," Rin argued.

"Well, don't they say that people are attracted to people who look similar to them?" Gumi added.

"Yeah! That must be why you and Len are so close!" agreed Miku.

THWACK! "What, exactly, are you implying?" Rin said threateningly.

"W-what was his name again? Mikuo?" asked Len quickly.

"Yeah, I think that was – hey, I smell something!"

The four Vocaloids rounded the corner and caught sight of Luka in the kitchen, smiling at their exchange and holding a spatula. Beside her, Gakupo was chopping up carrots and leeks with his back turned.

"Luka! You're better!" shouted Miku, hugging the woman.

"Ouch, your face," commented Len.

After whacking him in the head irritably, Rin pouted. "Took you long enough." Luka grinned and hugged the yellow-haired girl who squealed about germs, laughing.

"Me too!" said Miku, launching herself into the group hug. Gumi joined just after her.

"My head hurts," complained Len. Rin grinned at him, and, blushing, he joined the group hug.

"What's going on in here? I want in!" piped Kaito, walking in the door. Meiko was right behind him; Luka noticed her and glared. The brunette waggled her eyebrows, and she stuck out her tongue.

"You know I love you, right?" said Miku, noticing the leek stew bubbling on the stove. Luka laughed.

"We made a bit of everything," Gakupo said, smiling. The Vocaloids separated to squeal over their favorite foods.

"Hey, Rin, try this," said Luka, holding out a spoon of creamy orange soup. Rin took a sip and immediately demanded of Len that he try it. Miku was busy snagging chopped leek pieces from Gakupo's cutting board, and Gumi was stealing bites of the finished vegetable stir-fry while Kaito set some ice cream out to soften. Reaching into the alcohol cabinet, Meiko pulled down a single bottle of sake.

"It's a special occasion, one bottle shouldn't hurt," she announced to nobody in particular.

"What do you mean, special occasion?" asked Gumi.

"Who cares?" exclaimed Rin. "Can I have some, Meiko? Just a teensy bit?"

"You're not old enough to drink," said Luka sternly.

"Ah, it couldn't hurt, right? Only an itsy bitsy little taste," said Meiko, pouring a glass and ignoring Luka's continued protests.

"Well, we all need to relax a little…" consented Gakupo.

"I… really shouldn't drink," said Luka doubtfully. "You remember, Meiko! I'm scary when I drink too much!"

"It's fine, I'm sure you've grown out of it…" said Meiko dismissively.

A few hours later, around 10 PM, Kiyoteru arrived home from work. He parked his modern brown car and walked tiredly from the long day filled with endless paperwork. He barely had any time to write and sing songs, since he also worked as a cram school teacher.

He hesitated before opening the door. The house was even louder than usual, the laughter bordering on hysterical.

"CLEAN UP THAT PLATE! NOW!" boomed a voice. _Is that… Luka?_ Kiyoteru thought in disbelief. He walked in cautiously to see a sheepish-looking Kaito bringing his plate into the kitchen.

"M-Miku! Don't lick that!" squealed Gumi. Kiyoteru rushed to the doorway of the living room, admittedly very concerned. He observed Gumi pulling Miku back by the pigtails, probably due to the fact that the teal-haired girl was trying to lick the TV. Rin pulled one of Miku's socks off and ran out of the room with it, chuckling evilly. Luka passed a bottle back to Meiko.

"LEN!" the pink-haired woman screamed suddenly. The boy looked up fearfully, and Luka hug-tackled him from across the room, holding his head to her chest inadvertently. "YOU'RE SHO SHQUEEZHABUH!" she slurred.

"HEY! I wanna shqueeze 'im!" protested Rin, returning without the sock.

Len twisted out of Luka's grip and gasped for air. Rin started chasing him around the room, and he ran screaming, "Help meee!"

"Heey, I don' get a hug?" pouted Gakupo.

"No," said Luka indignantly.

"How 'bout a kiss?" He puckered his lips.

"Den'nitely not, you pervert."

"Push," Miku said as she pushed Gakupo from behind. Off-balance, he fell on top of Luka, and their lips met for an instant.

"HA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Meiko exploded in laughter, falling off the couch and spilling the remainder of the bottle. Kiyoteru noticed the empty bottles stacked neatly in the corner. _That looks like the remainder of the alcohol cabinet…_ he thought with awe.

The room filled with hysterical laughter as Gakupo jumped back, red-faced. Laughing easily, Luka thwacked him on the nose.

"Heeeyyy Luuukkaaaa, 'shnot my fault!" he complained. Rin, sitting on an unconscious Len's back, shouted something about Santa Claus and ghost bunnies randomly, earning a round of laughter from the drunken family. Miku, who'd been giggling ever since she'd pushed Gakupo, now laughed in an even higher octave.

"Hey, Kiyo!" greeted Kaito, noticing the man hiding in the hall. Meiko then swiftly grabbed Kaito's scarf, taking advantage of his distraction, and ran across the room with it.

"Nooo! Give it baaaack!" he shouted. Meiko made a huge show of tossing the blue fabric into the fireplace.

"NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Kaito cried, falling to his knees to mourn his beloved accessory, seemingly unaware of the fact that there was no fire going. While he sobbed dramatically, Gumi grabbed the scarf and dusted off the cinders.

"Here you go!" she said, presenting him with the scarf.

"GUMI! You're MAGICAL!" he exclaimed, awestruck.

"No, PINEAPPLES are magical!" corrected Rin, and then promptly passed out on top of Len.

"HAHAHAHA! THEY FELL ASHLEEP!" Miku gasped between giggles.

"Look at 'em! They're adorable!" Meiko announced, cooing like a fangirl. The others crowded around the sleeping teenagers, giggling as the two cuddled each other on the floor.

"We're such creepers," Luka whispered.

"I found my camera! Lesh take pictures!" announced Meiko.

Kiyoteru decided that now would be a good time to step in. "No pictures, Meiko. After all, it's your fault they got alcohol in the first place."

"Kiyo! Why don't'cha drink someshing? You sheem tired~" Meiko slurred, holding out an empty bottle. Kiyoteru took the bottle and set it down on the floor.

"HEY! PUT IT IN THE STACK!" demanded Luka.

"Luka, I don't think that's really import – " began the man tiredly.

"I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE ANY ARGUMENTS! I TOLD YOU TO PUT THAT BOTTLE IN THE STACK, AND FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR LIVING PAST TOMORROW I SUGGEST YOU FOLLOW MY DIRECTIONS!"

Kiyoteru stared at the fuming woman for a few moments, terrified. After a moment he recovered, and slowly picked up the bottle.

"No, ish okay, I'll do it," Luka said sweetly, taking the bottle and placing it decisively on the pyramid in the corner. Kiyoteru stared at her in confusion. _What… just… happened…?_

"Aahh, Luka, you're shcary," Gakupo said, hugging her randomly.

"AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" she shouted happily.

Luka didn't remember anything after she passed out.

**A/N: I'll let your minds do with that what they will.**

**I don't know why it was so hard to write this. I guess once you get into the depressing mood, it's hard to write happy stuff. I was stuck with a lack of fluff for the first time in my life. Maybe I should listen to happier music.**

**Songs stuck in my head → "J'Amerais Tellement" and "Banalité" by Jena Lee, a very talented French singer.**

**Thanks to everyone who's favorited and subscribed this! Please review if you liked it! ^^**


	9. A Total Waste of a Perfectly Good Friday

**A/N: There's a bit more language in this one... I rarely swear in real life, but when I'm writing, well, it's not technically _me_ saying it, it's the character. So, yeah. Sorry if that bothers you ^^"**

**Disclaimer: 私は自分のVOCALOIDをしない (you can do this for me, Google Translate!)**

The first thing Gakupo became aware of was the pounding in his skull. Beating as steadily as his heartbeat, it seemed intent on splitting his head into a million pieces. He moaned, wishing he could slip back into the numb darkness of sleep.

He felt a pressure on his chest and a distant voice. _Oi, oi, Gaku, wake up –_ the pressure moved to his face. _Wake up, you lovebirds. There's children in the room._

_What?_ Gakupo wondered. The weight digging into his nose began to be painful. He struggled to dig through the murky darkness beneath his eyelids and opened them slowly.

"'Bout time you woke up," said Meiko, removing her foot from his face. "Would you mind dealing with your girlfriend? She's dead to the world and I don't have the time to try and wake her up."

"What?" he muttered intelligently. Slowly, as he began to take awareness of the rest of his body, he noticed the warm form curling around him. Moving his fingers, he found them entwined in the person's long, soft hair. He lifted his head painfully to see who it belonged to… even though he already knew.

"Luka?" he said, bewildered.

"Nice job, genius," Meiko stated sarcastically. "Now get up, we haveta go to work."

Gakupo groaned. "Can't I stay home?"

"Nope. It's review day today. Luka's coming, too, whether she's conscious or not."

Gakupo groaned even louder and lay his head back down. He breathed deeply, trying to clear his hangover. _Why, oh why, did I drink so much last night?_ He promised himself he'd never get so drunk ever again.

_But still…_ he gazed down again over the woman curled tightly around him. _How'd we end up like this?_ And on the living room floor, no less.

He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position, leaning against the wall for support. "Wake up, Luka," he said unconvincingly, shaking her shoulder gently. When she continued to breathe steadily, as still as a rock, he attempted to break free from her grip. Her arms remained solidly locked around his torso. Was it his imagination, or did she cling tighter? He couldn't help but notice how adorable her sleeping face was.

"Lukaaa, let's goo," he complained tiredly. Sighing, he ran his hand down her side until he found her ticklish spot. At the slightest pressure, her entire body jerked and her hand flew up by reflex, punching him in the face before returning to its place securely wrapped around his chest.

"Um, _OW,_" he said irritably. Luka grunted slightly in response, not opening her eyes. "Luka, as adorable as this is, you need to get up and go to work." She groaned, burying her face in his shirt. "Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Still, it's review day, we all gotta go whether we like it or not."

Luka froze suddenly. She rose her head slowly to gaze at the man she was clinging to. "Gakupo?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you under me?"

"Why are _you_ on top of me, holding onto my shirt?"

Luka released her grip, suddenly noticing that she was a guilty party. "Good point." She rose off him slowly, wincing at the headache.

"Ugh. Remind me never to drink again," she moaned.

"Why not? You were pretty amusing to watch last night," he teased.

"Shut up," she snapped. Standing up, she stretched lengthily, sore from sleeping on the floor and off-balance from the hangover. Suddenly, she glanced down at her feet, noticing something missing.

"Where the hell is my other sock?"

xxxXXXxxx

By the end of the day, Meiko was tempted to hang a "Beware of Cactus" sign on Luka's office door. Then again, the humorless migraine-suffering woman probably would've bitten her. As scary as she was drunk, Luka was even more terrifying with a hangover.

"Hey, Luka, you're back!"

"Great observation. Now go get a life, I've got enough crap to deal with."

"Hey, Luka-san, what happened to your face?"

"Go Google it."

"Hey, Luka, how do you spell _kagayaku_ in English?"

"F-U-C-K O-F-F."

She definitely hadn't grown out of it.

Luka sighed. She envied the teenager Vocaloids who'd been able to stay home from school. True, they were probably suffering much more than she was, since they were younger, but still. They shouldn't be drinking in the first place.

The reviews themselves were rather uneventful. They mostly went over numbers in the morning, then each Vocaloid stood up and presented his/her plan for improvement. There was the general connecting more to the public, work hard, create something new, et cetera, and by the time it was Luka's turn she had no more clichéd suggestions to copy from the month before. When Master called her name, she froze for a second, trying to think through the pounding headache, then resolutely stood.

"Well, the way I see it, people already love us, right? And, um, we're famous in other parts of the world, too. Soo, what if we did a little tour abroad? We could promote our music in other places. And we need a vacation, so yeah. Something like that…" She'd made up the entire thing on the spot.

"That's an… interesting idea, Luka!" Gakupo said supportively.

"Luka?" asked Master.

"Yes?"

"Did you drink too much last night?" he asked knowingly.

Luka sighed, slouching in defeat. "Yes, sir." He smiled.

"Let's lay off the alcohol for real this time, okay?" he suggested kindly. Luka nodded dejectedly, sending another wave of pain through her head.

Miku, Rin, Len, and Gumi arrived at 4:00, like they usually would after school, escorted by Kaito. When Master noticed that the four of them were still mostly asleep, he shook his head disappointedly. "You let them drink, too?" Kaito laughed nervously. The meeting that followed was rather pointless, since nobody could pay attention.

Near the end of the day, Gakupo's phone started ringing, interrupting his silent suffering. He answered the buzzing cell phone lethargically. "Hello?"

"Hello, Kamui-san, this is the police department," the caller responded. He immediately became more alert as the person told him what he needed to do.

In her office down the hall, Luka was lying with her head on her keyboard; her monitor had long gone blank. _Migraine, migraine, go away…_ she sang quietly in her head. _Don't come back, ever. Or at least let me survive for another half hour so I can go home and take tons of Advil._

Her musing was interrupted when her door opened and someone stepped in. Without bothering to check who it was, she growled, "what?"

"Luka." The strange tone in which Gakupo said her name was enough to alarm her. Migraine aside, she lifted her head to look at him.

"What?" she repeated in a softer tone.

"Luka, the police department called…" he began somberly, gulping before he could continue. "They want you to come in and identify the men that attacked you."

**A/N: With a hangover, Luka is rather bitchy... in case you hadn't noticed. Spoiler alert! It all goes downhill from here. Enjoy! **


	10. It's Never Over

**A/N: Um, feel free to give me constructive criticism when reviewing... "constructive," meaning, don't be mean just to be mean. But I'd really like to improve, so negative feedback can be helpful sometimes. That is all.**

**Disclaimer: my SOCKS have a greater chance of owning Vocaloid than I ever will. AND I'M NOT WEARING SOCKS! Enjoy~**

Luka lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Another sleepless night had drained her.

_I don't want to get up. I don't want to face them._

It was 11 AM, she only had an hour until she needed to be at the police station.

_I don't want to go. I can't go. I can't face them._

A pessimistic voice in her head told her how weak she was. Another pessimistic voice then told the first voice that life was pointless anyways, and there was no point in being strong if you'll only die in the end. The pessimistic voices in her head began to argue, and Luka decided it wasn't very healthy to listen to them.

There was a knock on her door. "Luka, you up?" Meiko's voice asked.

"Yeah," she responded.

The door cracked open. "We have to get going soon; you'll probably want to be dressed." Luka didn't move from her position sprawled out on the bed. "Luka…" Meiko walked over and sat on her bed. "I'm really sorry you have to do this. I know you don't want to."

Luka shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm just tired."

Meiko rolled her eyes, not fooled by her words. "Sure, Luka. Now, do I have to drag you out of bed and dress you myself, or should I let Gakupo do that?"

Luka whacked the brown-haired woman, blushing. "NOT funny, Meiko." She swung her legs off the bed and stretched, yawning. Her migraine hadn't left her, and now she could add a dizzying lack of sleep to her grievances. Combined, they almost made her nauseous when she stood up. She couldn't think of a way to be less prepared for the day ahead of her. Besides perhaps forgetting clothes.

Meiko left the room so Luka could change. Washing her face, Luka stared at herself in the mirror. The scratch on her face was healing, but it was far from anything she could cover with makeup. _I hope they won't be able to see me,_ she thought, squeezing her eyes shut. _Has it really only been five days? _She'd changed more in the past few days than she had in years.

She managed to get dressed on time, but it was too late to eat anything. She wasn't hungry, anyways. She tiredly got into the car with Kaito driving, Meiko in the front seat, and Gakupo beside her.

"You're coming?" she asked him. He nodded. He had his reasons. Luka sighed, resigned to numbly watching the city out the window. Another grey, cloudy day threatened rain. The colorless streets flashed by.

They finally arrived at the station. In Luka's opinion, it wasn't long enough. She grimaced at the plain-looking building for a moment before opening the car door somberly.

"You ready?" Gakupo asked, the line between his eyebrows creasing. Luka took a deep breath, steadying herself, before walking towards the building filled with horrible memories. Remnants of the fear from that night crept into her heart, adding to the doubt that already hindered her steps. She walked blindly, guided by an officer who met them in the lobby. The officer motioned for them to step into a room.

The second Luka stepped through the doorway, she was hugged tightly by a woman with corkscrew-shaped pigtails. "Teto-san! What are you and Ted-san doing here?"

"Luka! Are you feeling better? You look tired," Teto rambled. "We're here as witnesses… and I wanted to make sure you were okay~!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," said Luka, smiling. The young woman still hugging her had so much energy, it was infectious.

"I brought you some bread from my café!" Teto announced, beaming as she presented Luka with a small, warm paper bag. The delicious smell of French bread wafted out when Luka opened it, and her mouth began to water. _I guess I should eat a little something, hm…_

Teto and Ted introduced themselves to Kaito and Meiko, who walked in last. The two of them and Gakupo were mostly here for moral support, and Luka was grateful. Getting to see the red-haired Kasane siblings again was a pleasant surprise, too.

Luka's brief good mood died when another officer walked in and started asking questions. Answering the same questions she had five nights ago – where were you, how many men were there, what did they do to you – was so much harder with Kaito and Meiko there. Eventually she snapped, "Don't you have these answers written down or something?" and the questions ended.

Then the officer explained that the suspects would walk out into a stage behind a large, black window on one side of the room. The glass was designed so that the witnesses could see the suspects, but the suspects wouldn't be able to see through. Luka sighed in relief, her hand unconsciously moving to the scratch on her left cheek. The officer continued to explain that each suspect would be holding a card with numbers on it, and Luka would have to say the numbers of the men she recognized. Then the light behind the glass flickered on, illuminating a small room with white walls. Luka grabbed the hand of whoever was sitting next to her – Meiko, as it turned out – as the suspects began to line up in front of the glass.

Waves of different emotions hit her as she saw their faces. _Oh god, that's the man I hit with my shoe… there's the one who grabbed my hair… those two were the first ones I saw... that's the man who was nearly shirtless…_ she couldn't help but feel a sick sense of satisfaction when she saw the red scratches across his face and his swollen eye. _I hate them all. So much._

She shut away her emotions before they could overcome her, and switched to her calculative brain. Her eyes flitted down the row of suspects – nine men in total – and she called out the numbers of the six that she recognized. The numbers were recorded, the criminals led away, and the light in the little room shut off again. The actual process took about five minutes.

Teto and her brother were taken to another room for additional questioning, and the young woman gave Luka another tight hug before leaving. Luka sat down on a bench in the hallway while the others filled out paperwork in the lobby. After a moment of staring blankly at the wall, someone sat down beside her.

"Are you really okay, Luka?" Gakupo asked quietly. In response, she nodded numbly. "Luka," he said again, firmly.

She turned her head to look at him. "What?"

Gakupo hated them. He hated those men so much for putting that blank, cold stare in Luka's eyes. He hated people who forced that irretrievable sadness deep inside others for their own pleasure. It was unforgivable.

Pushing his fury aside, he reached forward to brush the hair out of Luka's eyes gently.

She reflexively flinched away.

He returned his hand to his lap without a word.

Outside, the melancholy skies had begun to release their tears upon the world.

**A/N: Well, can you blame her?**

**Please review, everyone~! Next chapter will be up ASAP! *goes to write it***


	11. Unreachable

**A/N: Umm...**

**Disclaimer: still don't own Vocaloid or any of their songs.**

Luka leaned against the railing surrounding the roof of the Vocaloids' office building. She let the cool wind play with her hair, the earthy fragrance of autumn leaves and the bitter smell of the city mixing in the air around her. _There's something relaxing about the roof of a building…_ she thought wistfully. _Inside, it feels confining, but once you're above everything, there's such a sensation of freedom… _It was Friday afternoon, almost a week after she'd gone to the police station.

Nobody had touched her, not even hugged her, since that day.

Luka had receded into a corner of herself, shying away from the sadness and fear that occupied the rest of her being. The other members of the family had been shocked, even hurt, for the first few days as Luka avoided any sort of human contact. Now, they mostly watched her quietly from a distance, waiting for her to heal herself. It broke her heart that she couldn't explain to them why she was acting the way she did. How could she, when she didn't even know the reason herself?

Before she knew it, tears were spilling down her cheeks. She stood quietly with her eyes closed, letting them flow with a calm resignation. She opened her mouth, and a few notes escaped her lips. "Utsukushii sekai wa… iroaseteyuku… nagare teku… oshiete…" Her voice shook unsteadily as the tears continued.

_The beautiful world_

_Is losing its color…_

_Flowing away…_

_Teach me…_

She took out a pen and notebook and wrote down the song as she sang it. It was a ritual of hers. She utilized her pain in the way that she always did: she made it into a song.

_I'm looking for the words only you can hear_

_But I can't see them_

_Telling you is impossible_

_Even though_

_They are flowing over…_

The words spilled from her as rapidly as the tears as she sang freely into the wind. Up on the roof, with the sky all around her, she had no boundaries.

_Look…_

_Even though…_

_I have to repeat…_

She wrote the entire song in less than an hour. Wiping the moisture from her cheeks, she started back towards the stairs that led her down into the building.

To everyone else, it would just be another of Luka's beautifully sad songs.

She put her mask back on.

xxxXXXxxx

"Horaaa…" Luka cried out the last word, stretching it over the piano, guitar and drums that accompanied her. The piano finished its last sorrowful note, and Luka exited the recording room.

"Beautiful, simply beautiful!" exclaimed the Master, clapping. The rest of the Vocaloids congratulated her, but kept their distance. The only one not smiling was Gakupo.

Once again he'd listened to her beautiful voice singing of lovely suffering, and he'd been forced to hide his tears. Was he the only one who noticed the real pain in her songs? He gazed at the woman from across the room, his eyes filled with questions that went unanswered.

Luka wouldn't be able to answer them, anyways.

xxxXXXxxx

"What's wrong with you, Luka? Why can't you be happy?" _I don't know. I truly don't know._

"You have so many people who love you!" _I know, I'm sorry. I'm just a horrible, selfish person, causing you all to worry about me._

"We're all worried for you, Luka." _Stop. Stop worrying about me. I'm okay. Well, even if I'm not, it's not fair for you to worry about me. Please. Let me take care of it myself._

"Luka. Luka, look at me, and tell me nothing's wrong."

_I can't._

It seemed as if everyone was taking turns talking to her, trying to cheer her up. She wanted to shout at them to leave her alone, that they were only making it worse. _I can spare them a little hurt, though,_ she thought sadly. _I've hurt them too much already._

Gakupo glanced into Luka's room to find her window wide open, spilling the frigid night air across the floor. He hurried onto the roof and climbed the chimney, where he found the woman sprawled out on the shingles in her pajamas. She sung something quietly as she stared at the dark, moonless sky.

"Luka, why are you out here? It's freezing," he said with concern.

The woman stopped singing and slowly raised her head to glance emotionlessly at him. Setting her head back down, she took a deep breath. "I can't feel anything anymore, Gakupo."

He silently climbed onto the roof next to her. "Why not?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "I don't know. And I know it should scare me, but it doesn't. That's the worst part. I just don't care."

Gakupo resisted the urge to hold her in his arms. _What can I do?_ "Is there any way I can help? Please, Luka."

"Why don't you tell me?" she said quietly after a moment. "You always seem to know me better than I know myself."

"I don't know, Luka, please," he pleaded. "I can't let you stay like this. Just let me help you. Let me…"

He reached out his hand. She watched him silently as he softly caressed her healing cheek. Suddenly, clenching her teeth, she sprang up and gripped the edge of the roof and swiftly jumped back down through the window in one graceful move.

"Wait, no…!" he called quickly, but it was too late. "Luka…"

She was already gone.

xxxXXXxxx

Luka sat in the corner of her bathroom, listening to Gakupo's footsteps as he passed by, calling her name. She waited for him to pass before she relaxed. Releasing her clenched fists, she realized her nails had dug little red marks into the skin of her palms. She watched points of blood seep out with a strange fascination. Using her thumbnail, she made another little cut on the top of her hand. She felt the blood in her veins flowing again as the shivers hit her full-force.

There was no thought, no justification, as her blood continued to drip to the floor.

**A/N: I'm a horrible person ;_;**

**Luka: WHY MEEE?**

**I'm sorry Luka! D'8**

**Alternate ending:**

_He reached out his hand. She watched him silently as he softly caressed her healing cheek. Suddenly, clenching her teeth, she sprang up and gripped the edge of the roof and swiftly jumped back down towards the window in one graceful move._

_"Wait, no…!" he called quickly, but it was too late._

_BANG!_

_"...I closed the window!"_

_"#$*&!# GAKUPO!"_

**Luka: I don't like either of them...**

**Um, yeah. That was funnier in my head... anyways... if you wanna see Luka get better, review! It'll make me write faster! Love y'all!**

**Also, the song is "You And Beautiful World" → .com/watch?v=MBtiymiP-u8**

**Edit: I forgot some stuff ^^" That's what happens when you binge-write, I guess... (if it wasn't a term before, it's a term now. Blehh =P)**


	12. Can't Hide Forever

**A/N: I still love you, Miku! *hugs***

**Disclaimer: you get it by now.**

"Haha! I told you he liked you!" Gumi said cheerfully, and Miku's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of pink.

"Miku has a boyfriend, Miku has a boyfriend," Rin, dancing around her. The three of them were walking home after working at the studio. Kiyoteru was teaching cram school, Len, Kaito and Gakupo were recording another song, and Meiko and Luka had wandered off somewhere separately.

"Sh-shut up," she said, smiling shyly.

"I can't believe Mikuo asked you out! He even had a bouquet of flowers! How romantic!" Gumi cooed.

"Which reminds me…" began Miku, glancing mischievously at Rin, "when are you going to tell Len you like him, Rin?"

"HEY! I only said that when I was drunk and he was asleep!" she said defensively, blushing.

"Does that mean it's not true?"

"Well… um…"

Miku laughed gleefully. "YAY! You two would be so cute together!"

"I-I never said…!" Rin turned an even deeper shade of red than Miku.

"Ah, young love. I wonder when it'll be my turn," Gumi mused.

"Hey, look!" said Miku, pointing at the garage as they approached their house. The only car parked there was Luka's. "I'm going to tell Luka-nee-chan the news!"

"You sure?" asked Gumi doubtfully. "She seems like she wants to be left alone these days…"

Miku waved it off. "No, it's okay, she'll be happy to hear this." She strode through the house with complete confidence, searching for the pink-haired woman.

"Hey, Luka, you here?" she said, opening the door to her room. The room was empty, but the bathroom light was on with the door ajar. "Luka, guess what?" She jumped into the bathroom, smiling joyfully.

It took her a moment to realize why Luka had such a look of horror on her face. Her first thought, seeing that the woman was clutching a bloody towel, was that she'd accidentally hurt herself. Then she noticed the bloodstained razor on the floor. The teal-haired girl stood there numbly for a few seconds before she realized what was happening.

"Luka!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears began to fill her wide, shocked eyes. "What are you doing?" she squealed.

"Miku… no! No, I'm sorry… I…" stuttered Luka.

Ignoring her bloodied hands, Miku rushed forward to hug her tightly. "Please don't, Luka! Don't hurt yourself!" she said through her sobs. Luka stood there, speechless, as the girl sobbed into her chest. After a moment, she felt tears pricking at her own eyes. _I'm such an idiot,_ she thought, hating herself.

"I'm so sorry…" she muttered into Miku's hair, traitorous tears running down her cheeks. _How could I do this to her? To my family?_

"Promise me that you'll never hurt yourself again, okay? Please," Miku begged. Luka nodded, choking on her tears. The two of them stood there for a long time, crying.

xxxXXXxxx

Luka sat at her desk with her head in her hands, staring blankly at her keyboard. _What have I done? Poor Miku, to see me doing something like that…_ the traumatized girl was probably still crying. _I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid…_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to her room suddenly flew open. She turned around to see Gakupo storm in looking absolutely furious. She rose to her feet, and without giving her a chance to speak, he grabbed her by the wrist. He pulled down her sleeve, revealing a row of barely-healed scars.

"Why?" he shouted, his voice thick with fury.

"Miku told you," Luka stated coldly.

"The whole world probably knows by now, Luka, the poor girl was so upset," he said, tightening his grip on her wrist.

"Ow, let go," she protested. "You're hurting me."

He let her wrist go. "You've done plenty of that yourself," he said slowly, his voice filled with venom.

"That…" she trailed off, unable to meet his eyes.

"Why, Luka, why?" he repeated, softer this time. She continued to gaze past him. "Why?" he pleaded, immense sorrow welling up in his heart.

"I don't know," she said quietly, more tears running down her face. Suddenly Gakupo pulled her into an embrace, ignoring her protests. She eventually gave up and relaxed in his arms, crying onto his shoulder like she had so often that first week. There was something warm and familiar in his touch that she hadn't even realized she'd been missing.

"Luka, Luka…" he whispered into her hair, his voice shaking. "How could I let this happen to you?"

She shook her head. "Not your fault," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"I should've noticed earlier, I should've gotten help…" he continued. "How long has this been happening?"

"About two weeks," she admitted reluctantly. "Since that night on the roof."

"I'm such an idiot," he muttered, grimacing.

"Me, too," she whispered. She never thought it would feel so good to confide in someone again.

"Luka, I'm taking you to a doctor tomorrow," he decided. "We're going to help you get better, okay?"

She grimaced at the idea of therapists and pills, but eventually consented. "On one condition."

"What?" he asked.

"Make me tuna tonight?" she said hopefully. Surprising her, he laughed.

"Of course. I'll make you the most delicious tuna you've ever eaten," he promised. For the first time in weeks, she smiled.

**A/N: Almost done! x_x**

**Song for this one: → "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence**

**...well, that explains a lot ^^"**


	13. The Beautiful World

**A/N: I'm sorry ;_;**

**Disclaimer: VOCALOID OWNS ME.**

"_Hello?" Meiko answered her ringing cell phone._

_She heard panting on the other line. "Oh my god, I just took a whole bottle of sleep pills," Luka said, panic in her voice. "I thought I wanted to die, Meiko, but I don't, I really don't." She started to sob._

"_WHAT? Luka, are you okay?"_

"_I'm… I… I don't know…" she cried._

"_I'm coming over, Luka. Don't leave me," Meiko said, running out of the building and into her car. "Try to throw up, Luka, okay? I'm coming as fast as I can, hold on."_

_Sounds of retching interspersed with sobbing and whimpering came over the phone. Tears blurred Meiko's vision as she sped down the road, ignoring speed limits and stop signs. _

"_Luka, why are you doing this to me?" The voice on the phone was suddenly Gakupo's. "Why?" he cried, breaking her heart._

"_No! No, I'm sorry, I didn't- I won't- I'm so sorry!" Luka collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath between tears. It was too late, though. Her throat suddenly closed, suffocating her as she tumbled into a world of darkness…_

Luka gasped awake, tears pouring down the sides of her face freely. For a moment, she just stared at the ceiling, letting the moisture soak her pillow. Eventually she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to steady her breathing. _Just a dream, Luka. It was just a dream,_ she reminded herself over and over again.

The pressure on her chest felt as if it could crush her. One thought wouldn't leave her mind, as much as she tried to banish it:

_I just watched myself commit suicide._

She decided then and there that, for the sake of herself and her family, she would never even consider doing such a thing. _Dear God, I promise I'll do my best to protect the ones I love._

She glared at the orange bottle on her nightstand. _Stupid antidepressant pills._ She'd been taking them dutifully for the past few days, but they only seemed to be making things worse. It was as if they'd broken down the barriers protecting her heart, allowing all the painful emotions to rush in.

Judging by the window, it was far too early to be awake. Luka glanced at her clock, and sure enough, it was almost four in the morning. She sighed, not really feeling like going to sleep again. Suddenly, she felt the strange urge to go somewhere. _Where?_ she asked herself, irritated. Nevertheless, she quickly threw some clothes on and walked quietly out to her car.

She sat gripping the steering wheel for a few minutes, trying to figure out where her subconscious wanted her to go. Suddenly, the image of someplace green and warm appeared in her mind. She backed out of the driveway quietly and began driving in the direction of the mountains, faintly illuminated by the moon, without another word.

Already breaking her promise.

xxxXXXxxx

The world seemed to materialize around her as Luka opened up her senses, completely vulnerable for the first time in weeks to the barrage of sounds and sights in the ever-changing world. However, unlike life before, the only sound whistling past her ears was the calm and unsteady pulse of the wind. Trees rustled, rocks sang, all chorusing together under the invisible force of air. She planted her feet in the gravelly ground beneath her and took a long breath, filling her lungs with fresh mountain air. It was laden with the distinct smell of autumn.

She felt the clear sunlight on her skin; tasted its buttery warmth. Brightness softly touched her closed eyelids, the wind danced on her cheeks; she took another deep breath and opened her eyes.

The valley sprawled below her was just as brilliant as the last time she'd seen it; perhaps more so, since the changing leaves painted the landscape bright oranges and reds. In the distance, she could see the ocean; somewhere along that coastline was the city away from which she'd driven for at least three hours that morning. The city, her home, her family… they were all so distant, it seemed as if all the pain connected to them could simply drift away. Luka had the clothes on her back, a water bottle in her hand, and her car keys in her back pocket; nothing else connected her to humanity at that point. She pictured all her pain and sadness, wrapped up in bundles and tied with ribbons. Exhaling, she let them drift away, carried by the wind down the valley, out over the ocean, then so far away that they would dissolve into the clouds. She raised her face to the sun and smiled.

She only lingered a few minutes more on the summit, feeling so light and carefree that she might just drift off on the wind, too. For the first time since the incident, her heart felt light and unburdened; something about the mountain had cleaned her of the darkness lingering within her. She paused before leaving, wondering why the path had been so familiar to her, why the place had such a healing effect. She couldn't remember, though, so she turned and began her descent without a single regret.

She was nearing the bottom when she began to think of her family, who would be worried about her by now. _What time is it?_ she wondered. Judging by the sun, it was early afternoon. By now, they would be looking for her. She wondered briefly if she should've told someone about her departure, and perhaps her destination (although, she hadn't been so sure about that herself, at first,) but she had a feeling it wasn't necessary.

She had just reached the end of the trail and her red car was in sight when she noticed the dark blue one parked adjacent to it. _It couldn't be…_ she thought, but surely enough… approaching the car, her suspicions were confirmed; snoring loudly in the front seat with the windows rolled down was a certain purple-haired man.

_How did he know where I went?_ she marveled in disbelief. She walked over to the driver-side window and leaned forward.

"Hey," she said softly, not enough to wake him. Releasing a long breath, she continued talking half to herself, half to him. "You really do know me better than I do myself, apparently."

She surveyed his restlessly sleeping face, and before she knew it she was lightly kissing his slightly-parted lips. His eyelids fluttered, and she pulled away.

He blinked awake and, feeling the lingering kiss, looked up at the pink-haired woman with those gentle, questioning eyes. For several moments, she searched for words.

"I'm so sorry," she said at last. _Sorry… for so many things. Pushing you away. Refusing to wake up. Causing you worry, pain, sadness… _Luka Megurine didn't apologize often, and this one held a particular weight.

He gently caressed her face, smiling with teary eyes. She felt a huge weight lift off her chest. She'd thought she was rid from it at the top of the mountain, but only now, with the forgiveness of the one she loved and had hurt the most, was she truly free.

He opened the door and stepped out of the car. Without even bothering to close it, he pulled Luka into a tight embrace filled with joy born from a long struggle with sadness. He leaned back against the car, holding her tenderly for a long while. She laced her arms behind his back and hid her face in his shoulder. She closed her eyes, relaxing in his warmth. There was no sound other than their heartbeats and the gentle wind rolling down the mountain.

"How'd you find me?" she muttered quietly, breaking the silence.

He pressed his lips to her hair. "Don't you remember what happened on this mountain?"

She shook her head.

"This is where we first met," he said, a smile in his voice.

She pulled away enough that she could look in his eyes. Slowly, she began to remember that day. It had been a hot summer day in High School, and her classmates had all wanted to either flirt with the students from other schools or leave so they could get back to their air-conditioned homes. Luka was the only one who'd seated herself on the edge of the rock, gazing out serenely at the beautiful landscape of greens and blues. A boy with peculiar purple hair had approached her; she couldn't remember if he'd tried to flirt or not but they'd ended up sitting next to each other enjoying the silence. She hadn't even remembered his name, and she internally whacked herself for not realizing who it was. After all, how many guys in this world naturally have purple hair? But still… suddenly, the familiarity and friendliness of the mountain made sense to her. She hadn't realized how much of an impression that day had made on her… or on him.

"That was years ago," she said at last.

"And I've never forgotten it," said the man with his arms wrapped gently around her. "I knew, from that very day, that I would always love you, Luka. I'm just so lucky you didn't disappear from my life forever after that."

Luka was speechless. She gazed up at his kindly smiling eyes, fully realizing for the first time how incredibly loved she was. Her heart could no longer resist; her hands pulled his head closer and her lips met his again.

He kissed her back gently and tenderly, one of his hands softly stroking her cheek. Her heart lurched, and then flew away, beating happily. It was slow, sweet, and filled with more love than a thousand words could say. Yet, she pulled back an inch. She needed to say it.

"I love you," she whispered. For once in her life, there was something she was absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent confidently sure about.

_I love you. _And…

_I'm safe._

**A/N: *squeals* I'm DONE! FINISHED! I ACTUALLY FINISHED AN EPICALLY LONG STORY! 8D *proud of self***

**Although, seriously, I could go on writing this forever. How about... review if you want an epilogue? Which will probably contain untold cuteness of various pairings? =3 **

**WELL THEN. I hope you enjoyed my immensely depressing yet fluffy story. Fyi, in case any of you were concerned about me, no... I have never experienced anything like this... this is written purely from hearing other people talk about it and my own imagination.**

**Thanks so much, everyone who stuck with me for the entire thing! You're amazing, and I love you all! *gives everyone cookies* Especially Sydney Grise and Kishes, who've submitted multiple thoughtful reviews that I love to read! (/shot) ^^**

**Love, Hina **


	14. Epilogue: A Taste of Forever

**A/N: Long time no see ^^ I finally got around to writing this (in math class, of course.) I'd intended for it to be short at first, perhaps a quick letter to summarize what happened, but as you can see, it evolved into something quite different. Still, I'm incredibly proud of it. Such cheessiness fills me with warm fuzzies to write, so I hope you enjoy it ^-^ (Sydney Grise and MissMorgi, this one's for you!)**

**Disclaimer: I actually like the one from last time... Vocaloid owns me. And it still does.**

~EPILOGUE~

Brilliant blue roses glittered on the walls of the beachside chapel. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the big windows, and the soft crashing of waves could be heard over the chatter of the audience. The cool spring air hung with anticipation.

Luka took a deep breath, clenching the bouquet of soft red flowers in her hands. This day had approached so suddenly, it had taken her by surprise. She gazed eagerly down the aisle, joy building up in her chest. Rin, standing beside her, caught her eye and smiled. In only a few years, the cute little blonde-haired girl had blossomed into a young woman. Her hair had grown out to brush her shoulders, although it still bore her signature white hair clips, and she filled out her baby blue bridesmaid dress beautifully. She, too, was nervous yet excited for the wedding to begin.

The organ began to play, and the entire audience immediately became silent. The little flower girl, Yuki, began skipping down the aisle and dispersing rose petals behind her. She was Kiyoteru's cousin who'd come to live with the Vocaloids about a year before. She was followed by Len who, like Rin, had shot up in a few short years; he carried the two rings. Finally, the audience craned their necks to see the bride as she stepped through the doors, soft white silk brushing her ankles.

Meiko looked absolutely stunning.

She strode confidently up the aisle, her face glowing with joy. Her eyes rose to the faces of her loved ones waiting for her at the altar. Seeing so many teary, breathless faces brought a mischievous twinkle to her eyes.

The air shimmered with the collective smiles and tears; the connection between the bride and groom was nearly visible, like a golden rope stretching between the rows of people. Meiko's long, graceful strides began to accelerate, as if she was being pulled towards the blue-haired man waiting for her.

Kaito stood unsurely, his mouth slightly agape and his eyes wide as the woman he'd fallen in love with approached. She noticed his expression and smirked, causing his face to break into a wide grin.

Tears pricked at Luka's eyes as she watched the scene; Rin was quietly wiping away similar drops of moisture and Miku was already bawling. Being the maid of honor, Luka had a clear view of the audience, and was glad to notice that they weren't the only ones trying to resist tears.

Everything happened in less than a minute. As Meiko reached the head of the chapel, Kaito held out his hand to meet hers, and didn't let go as she stepped up a short distance to stand across from him. The music drew to a close, and the ceremonies began.

xxxXXXxxx

"I have to say, Meiko, I never thought you'd be married before me," Luka admitted at the reception. The beach they'd chosen was absolutely stunning as the sun began its descent. Meiko's dress and hair caught the golden sunlight, and the ring on her left hand glittered. Her right hand was securely possessed by Kaito's left one.

"Didn't you always say you never wanted to be married? Now, that's not very encouraging," joked Meiko. As Luka laughed, Meiko plucked a glass of champagne off a wandering server's tray. Kaito began to protest, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Hey, it's a wedding. Everyone drinks at weddings," she reasoned. Kaito rolled his eyes.

"Okay, but only because you're so beautiful," he said, smiling. Meiko placed a kiss on his lips before turning to the glass of bubbly liquid.

"Aww, Meiko, you were doing so well with your alcohol ban," teased Luka.

"You're one to talk," replied Meiko, raising her eyebrows and gesturing towards the glass in Luka's hands.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a horrible role model. Don't be a bad person like me," she said sarcastically, taking a ladylike swig of champagne and emptying the glass.

"Here you are," a low voice called from behind her as a hand snaked around her waist. "I was wondering where you'd gone, Luka. Should've figured you'd be over by the cake." With his free hand, Gakupo swiped a bit of frosting from one of the seemingly abandoned slices of cake and popped it in his mouth.

"Dear, you've got frosting on your nose," Luka said, a smile forming at the edges of her lips.

"I do?"

"You do now." Smirking, she took a good-sized chunk of cake and shoved it in his face.

"HEY! Luka!" he said, laughing. When she wasn't expecting it, he pulled her into a kiss, smearing frosting on her face.

"There, now we're even," he said, grabbing a pile of napkins.

"Oi, you two," interrupted Meiko, smirking mischievously, "isn't it the bride and groom who are supposed to shove cake in each others' faces?"

"Well… she started it!" protested Gakupo, trying not to laugh. Luka continued to giggle as she wiped her face with the napkins.

"Seriously, when are you two getting married?" Kaito asked exasperatedly. Meiko nodded her head enthusiastically in agreement.

Luka turned bright red. "Har, har. You're hilarious, you two." Gakupo just winked.

xxxXXXxxx

A little ways away from the food and people, Rin sat in the sand, the water lapping at her bare feet while she watched the pink and orange sunset. The ocean was still a bit chilly, but relaxingly steady, with waves which were gentle and predictable. She sighed contentedly, gazing out at the endless colorful horizon.

"Hey, Rin. What's up?" asked Len, walking towards her through the sand. She smiled when she noticed that he also had bare feet.

"Nothing. Weddings just make me a little sad for some reason," she said with a small smile.

"Aw, why's that?" he asked, sitting next to her. She shrugged, staring at their feet. He continued to think for a little bit as he watched her. "Hey, didn't we used to have pretend weddings when we were little?"

A grin broke out on Rin's face. "Yeah, that's right. You used to be the bride."

Len chuckled, blushing. "Oh, the good old days when you would force me to cross-dress."

"Ah, yes. I miss those days. You're too manly to pass as a girl now," she complained, punching him playfully.

"I'll take that as a compliment," he said, laughing.

She tugged on his little ponytail. "Of course, this probably isn't helping."

"I thought you liked my ponytail," he complained.

"I do," she said, pursing her lips and looking over the boy she'd grown up with. There was no denying it: the little squeaky-voiced shouta she'd fallen in love with had grown into something even more…

"Say, how about we do a pretend wedding again right now?" suggested Len.

"Sure," said Rin, rolling her eyes and laughing.

"Hmm, but I can't remember the whole ceremony."

"Oh, really?"

"The only part can seem to remember is this," he said, leaning forward and kissing her.

Caught off-guard, Rin froze. Len pulled away quickly and then dropped his gaze, embarrassed. "Sorry," he muttered.

Rin inhaled quickly, unaware that she'd been holding her breath. Her hands gently moved to the sides of his face, turning it slowly so she could look into his eyes. Then, pinching his cheeks, she pulled his mouth into a lopsided grin.

"Ba-ka," she said, grinning. "Warn me a little next time, okay?"

"Oww, Rin… wait, what?" he mumbled as Rin moved forward to press her mouth against his again. He held her tighter as their lips connected, and he fell back softly on the sand with the young woman on top of him. The kiss grew deeper as the sun sank into the sea, slowly casting a chill into the air. After a while, Rin pulled away to breathe.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long," Len admitted sheepishly.

"Me, too," Rin said, smirking. In the distance, Gakupo's voice drifted through the speakers.

"Oh, Gaku's starting his best-man speech. We don't wanna miss this," Rin said, standing up and brushing the sand off her dress.

"Definitely not," agreed Len. The two of them smiled mischievously, fully understanding what was about to happen.

xxxXXXxxx

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening…" Gakupo began, bowing elaborately with a microphone in his hand. "As the best man, I've been endowed with the great honor of speaking at this gathering which celebrates the joining of our dear friends, Kaito Shion and Meiko Sakine," he gestured towards the table where the two were sitting, and a small round of applause followed, "and I shan't waste such an opportunity to speak as if I were from the Edo period." He finished the statement with a flourish of his hand, gaining a round of laughter from his audience. Luka facepalmed.

"Now, I must admit, these two caught me by surprise. I never thought there'd be so much love hidden beneath all that ice cream consumption. But as you can see, when these two look at each other… well, what can I say? They shine." The newlyweds blushed at this, Kaito mostly about the ice cream comment.

"Folks, as usual, they've convinced me to do something incredibly stupid tonight. I don't suppose anyone is surprised, really. Well, this is rather selfish of me, but…" he glanced nervously at the table where the couple sat. Meiko made a hand motion to tell him to hurry up, smirking. Gakupo turned back to the audience and took a deep breath.

"Luka," he said decisively. The entire audience fell dead silent. The woman's head shot up, her eyes widening as she began to speculate. _He isn't going to… no way… is he?_

Gakupo began to smile, his eyes gleaming. _Oh, yes, I am,_ he thought, guessing what was running through her mind. "Luka. I love you more than anything in the world. I love you more than life itself. I want to spend the rest of forever by your side. Will you marry me?"

The audience exploded in aww's, squeals, and shushes as Luka stood up silently and began to walk towards the stage. Gakupo watched her approach nervously; for once unable to guess what she was thinking. A tense moment passed as Luka grabbed the man by the tie, hesitated a second, then pulled him forward to kiss him. An enormous cheer erupted from the crowd.

"I'm guessing that's a yes?" asked Gakupo, grinning.

"Of course, you idiot. I was wondering why the heck you were taking so long to ask," she said, breaking into a smile. Gakupo fished a box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a sparkling ring. In front of the hysterical crowd, he slipped it on her finger. Luka covered her face with her right hand, turning bright red.

"This is so cheesy," she muttered. Gakupo laughed. Suddenly, she gestured towards the microphone. "Hey, would you mind if I said a few words?"

"Go right ahead, my love," he said, beaming. She flicked his nose and took the mic.

"Hem hem," she began to quiet down the crowd. When they noticed her speaking, they immediately hushed. "Let me just say, thank you, Meiko and Kaito, for convincing him to do that in front of _everybody,_" she began, her voice thick with sarcasm. "And thank you to my idiot f-fiancé for actually following through with it…" She turned bright red again, and the crowd snickered at her embarrassment. "Yeah, yeah. It'll take some getting used to. Well, before we all leave tonight, I'd love it if everyone could personally congratulate the couple we actually came here to celebrate for. They've both been through some really tough times, and they came through it stronger and closer than ever. They've helped me, too, when I was having tough times. You all did. Thank you, and I love you all."

The night carried on, the sounds of waves and celebration mixing together long into the morning. The moonlight glittered in the water as love and joy shimmered together, filling the air with a taste of forever.

**A/N: WELL? IS THAT ENOUGH SYRUPY SWEETNESS FOR YOU? 8D**

**And now I'm actually finished. OMG I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST WROTE THAT. Anyways. Well, now I can move on with my life... finally... ^^"**

**Please, do review if you liked it. And feel free to give me negative feedback! I NEED NEGATIVE FEEDBACK! In the future, too, since I have a few more story ideas. Thanks, everyone who's reviewed, favorited and subscribed! You're amazing, you encourage me to keep writing through those icky points of writer's block, and je vous aime, tout le monde~!**

**Now I need sleep. Ja'ne~!**


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